Living Spell (4e Creature)

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During eras of great conflict involving spellcasters, magical energies occasionally took on sentience and refused to dissipate. These living spells still haunt places blasted by magic, apparently subsisting on ambient magical energy. They seem to kill only for pleasure, not out of any need to feed.

A living spell appears similar to a normal spell effect, writhing and moving with definite purpose.

While squeezing, the ooze moves at full speed rather than half speed, it doesn't take the -5 penalty to attack rolls, and it doesn't grant combat advantage for squeezing.

Standard Actions

Slam ♦ At-Will

Attack: Melee 1 (one target); +2 vs. Will

Hit: 1d8 + 5 psychic damage and slide the target 1 square.

Engulf ♦ At-Will

Attack: Melee 1 (one target); +2 vs. Reflex

Hit: The living spell grabs the target (escape DC 12). Until the grab ends, the target is dazed and suffers 5 ongoing psychic damage. When the living spell moves, it pulls with it any creature grabbed by it, and the creature remains grabbed and within the living spell's space. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks by the grabbed creature. Only one creature can be engulfed at a time.

Skills -

Str 14 (0)

Dex 10 (0)

Wis 10 (0)

Con 16 (+3)

Int 1 (-5)

Cha 1 (-5)

Alignment Unaligned

Languages -

Equipment -

This homogeneous, perfect sphere of hazy purple-green energy straddles existence between the real world and the minds of those who observe it.

While squeezing, the ooze moves at full speed rather than half speed, it doesn't take the -5 penalty to attack rolls, and it doesn't grant combat advantage for squeezing.

Standard Actions

Slam ♦ At-Will

Attack: Melee 2 (one target); +14 vs. Will

Hit: 3d8 + 8 psychic damage and the target is blinded until the end of the Living Prismatic Burst's next turn.

Engulf ♦ At-Will

Attack: Melee 2 (one target); +14 vs. Reflex

Hit: The living spell grabs the target (escape DC 20). Until the grab ends, the target is dazed and suffers 10 ongoing radiant damage. When the living spell moves, it pulls with it any creature grabbed by it, and the creature remains grabbed and within the living spell's space. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks by the grabbed creature. Only two creatures can be engulfed at a time.

Triggered Actions

Mirror Image ♦ At-Will

Trigger: An attack bloodies the Prismatic Mirror for the first time in the encounter.

Effect:(immediate reaction); Three mirror images of the Prismatic Mirror appear in the four squares it occupies, and it gains a +6 bonus to AC. Each time an attack misses the Prismatic Mirror, one of its duplicate images disappears and its AC bonus drops by 2. When the bonus reaches 0 all of the images are gone and this power ends.

Skills —

Str 16 (+9)

Dex 16 (+9)

Wis 16 (+9)

Con 22 (+12)

Int 1 (+1)

Cha 1 (+1)

Alignment Unaligned

Languages —

Equipment —

This large multi-faceted crystalline ooze scatters and refracts light. It is a combination of the residuum from two common illusionist spells - Prismatic Burst and Mirror Image.

Hit: The living spell grabs the target (escape DC 27). Until the grab ends, the target is dazed and suffers 20 ongoing lightning and acid damage. When the living spell moves, it pulls with it any creature grabbed by it, and the creature remains grabbed and within the living spell's space. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks by the grabbed creature. It can engulf four creatures at a time.

Triggered Actions

Fate's Chaos ♦ Recharge

Trigger: The living chaos spends an action point to make an attack and misses.

Effect:(no action); Reroll the attack roll with a +7 bonus.

Chaos Echoes ♦ Encounter

Attack: Close burst 5 (one enemy)

Trigger: The living chaos is hit or missed by an attack.

Effect: The triggering attack hits the target.

Skills -

Str 24 (+19)

Dex 24 (+19)

Wis 24 (+19)

Con 30 (+22)

Int 1 (-5)

Cha +7 (-5)

Alignment Unaligned

Languages -

Equipment +7

A massive conglomeration of multiple chaos sorcerer spells, it throbs with shifting jagged spurs of entropy.

The living chaos is mindless, and simply rolls towards the nearest living thing with a preference to those of lawful alignment. It will engulf what it can before resorting to slams. It will use its first action points as early as possible, using fate's chaos as appropriate, and wait until it has recharged before using its second action point. It will use chaos echoes to react against the first use of a daily attack power, or against any attack if it is already bloodied.

Here are some rough guidelines for creating a living spell. Some finesse will be required to capture the particular flavour of your chosen spell.

Select an arcane class attack power to base your spell on. If the spell is an encounter or daily power, your living spell is of the same level. Living spells based on at-will powers can be 1st, 11th or 21st level.

A living spell is of natural origin and has the magical beast type.

It is blind, and has blindsight 10

It has the blind and ooze keywords.

It has immunities to being blinded and gaze effects

If the spell has damage type keywords, the living spell has resistance against those damage types.

Size and Resistance depends on its level

Level 1 - 10: Medium size, resist 5

Level 11 - 20: Large size, resist 10

Level 21 - 30: Huge size, resist 20

Speed depends on the power's range. They also have a climb speed of 4.

Close or Ranged 5: Speed 4

Ranged 10: Speed 5

Ranged 20: Speed 6

Role will usually be brute, but this can be changed to another role at your judgement depending on the theme of the spell.

Secondary role depends on the type of power:

At-will powers are standard monsters

Encounter powers are elite monsters, and therefore have +2 to saving throws and 1 action point.

Daily powers are solo monsters, and therefore have +5 to saving throws and 2 action points.

Ability scores are standard for its role and level, except Intelligence and Charisma which are both 1.

It has the following trait:

Ooze; While squeezing, the ooze moves at full speed rather than half speed, it doesn't take the -5 penalty to attack rolls, and it doesn't grant combat advantage for squeezing.

It has the following standard actions:

Slam - this is an at-will melee 1 basic attack with all the properties of the spell except range.

Engulf - this is an at-will melee 1 against one creature, vs. Reflex. On a hit, the living spell grabs the target (escape DC is Medium for that level). Until the grab ends, the target is dazed and suffers ongoing damage of the same type as one of spell's damage types (5 at levels 1 to 4; 10 at levels 5 to 14; 15 at levels 15 to 24; 20 at levels 25 to 30). When the living spell moves, it pulls with it any creature grabbed by it, and the creature remains grabbed and within the living spell's space. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks by the grabbed creature. Medium living spells can engulf one creature. Large can engulf two creatures. Huge can engulf four creatures.

Add other powers: For Elites, select one Utility spell of its level or lower; for Solos, select two. Implement these as an action, aura or trait as you see fit. Give powers based on encounter spells a Recharge; whereas daily spells become Encounter powers. Having one effect trigger when the living spell becomes bloodied is a way of keeping a battle dynamic.

Living spells have no equipment, are of unaligned alignment and have no languages.